


'You're So Close To Me...Your Heart Is Beating As Fast As Mine...'

by simplygrimly



Series: I Love Yoo Short Stories - Cliche Writing Prompts [2]
Category: I Love Yoo (Webcomic)
Genre: Bakery, Best Friends, F/F, First Kiss, Flirting, Friends to Lovers, Gay, Girls Kissing, In love with best friend, Lesbian, Lesbian Kiss, kitchen, possible lesbians, self discovery
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-22
Updated: 2020-03-22
Packaged: 2021-02-28 21:27:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,536
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23253943
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/simplygrimly/pseuds/simplygrimly
Summary: Maya and Rika discover something new as they work in the bakery.
Relationships: Rika Lau/Maya Park
Series: I Love Yoo Short Stories - Cliche Writing Prompts [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1671310
Kudos: 5





	'You're So Close To Me...Your Heart Is Beating As Fast As Mine...'

**Author's Note:**

> THIS PIECE IS WRITTEN AFTER THE CURRENT CANON TIMELINE - ALL CHARACTERS ARE ADULTS!

Rika sighed as she tossed another empty piping bag in the trash, exhausted after having spent the day helping Maya create a massive, six tiered wedding cake. She had never thought that she would be helping Maya run the bakery; neither of them had planned on taking over the business, especially not so soon after high school. But life doesn’t always go according to plan, and Rika certainly wouldn’t let her best friend drown trying to keep her mother’s accomplishments alive. 

It always surprised customers when they realized that the two of them actually ran the place, they typically assumed that the 25 year olds simply worked there while attending college courses or something more typical of young women their age. But they had done very well in the two years since Maya had been left with the option of keeping the bakery open or closing its doors, their wedding cakes in particular becoming an extremely popular, extremely lucrative specialty. Just one of these giant wedding cakes would bring in double the amount of money that the cupcakes and pastries brought in every month. And, while Rika was often exhausted and annoyed after completing one of the giant masterpieces, she couldn’t deny the sense of pride that she took in each of their accomplishments. 

She crossed her arms and leaned against the counter as she watched Maya carefully piping vibrant orange and white roses in various places on the cake, perfectly placing them among the purple and pink roses that they had already completed. Rika knew that they still had quite a ways to go before they were finished decorating the behemoth of a cake, but she couldn’t help but stare in amazement at what they had already accomplished. 

“Are you going to help me finish this cake, or are you just going to stand there and gawk?” Maya chastised her jokingly, not turning away from the delicate roses that she was neatly piping onto the frosted surface. 

Rika knew that her hand had to be cramping at that point; she had hardly taken a break in the six hours since they had started making the buttercream roses, only stopping to stretch for a moment before she hunched back over the work of art that she was so focused on. “When was the last time you had a drink of water, Maya?” 

Maya’s hand stilled for a moment and she glanced up at the clock on the wall opposite her, quickly calculating how many hours had passed since she had finished the water bottle that Rika had shoved at her early. “I’m not sure, a few hours at least? I want to at least get the orange roses done before I step away and lose the rhythm of what I’m doing.”

She smiled at Maya’s hyperfocus as she pushed off of the counter and crossed the tile floor to the fridge. She pulled out a chilled bottle of water before fishing through a nearby drawer to get a straw. Rika opened the water bottle and dropped the straw inside, bending the top so that it didn’t completely disappear into the bottle. She stood at Maya’s side and held the water bottle close to her, the straw only a few inches from her lips. “Drink, you need water or your hands will start cramping and then we’ll have to finish tomorrow.”

Maya glanced up at Rika from the corners of her eyes. She tried to look annoyed but she couldn’t hide the appreciation that she felt for Rika. She was always there to remind Maya to drink water when she had been working all day, to cover Maya with a blanket when she fell asleep on the couch, to cook an easy dinner when she was too tired to do anything more than sit on the couch after a long day in the bakery. Rika had stuck by Maya’s side through everything; never leaving her alone through any of the struggles that she had encountered since their senior year. Rika had been a supportive, understanding friend when she and Shin-Ae had fallen out, she had been there when Min Hyuk decided to stay in the US permanently, and she had chosen to stay behind and go to a local college with Maya when she couldn’t afford to go to Uni overseas. Rika had been there when her mother got sick, she had brought meals to the hospital when she was dying, and she had helped plan all the small details of her funeral when Maya was too numb to even look at floral arrangements. Rika had even moved in with her after her mother had passed, making sure that she could keep the house as well as the bakery as they struggled to graduate while keeping the life that her mother had built for them afloat. She smiled and shook her head before taking a long drink of water, her hands remained poised over the side of the cake with the piping bag in hand as Rika held the water bottle within reach until Maya had sipped enough water to quench the thirst she hadn’t realized she was feeling. She took one last sip when Rika didn’t pull the water bottle away, briefly appeasing her before she started piping the next rose onto the cake. 

“Thank you,” Maya muttered as she dipped her head back down to return her focus to the roses. She was unwilling to accept anything less than perfection, and perfection took focus. 

Rika smiled and finished off the bottle of water before tossing it across the room to land perfectly in the trash can. “Do you want me to mix the blue buttercream for the forget-me-nots?” Maya nodded absentmindedly, too enthralled in her task to verbally respond. She didn’t mind Maya’s refusal to verbally acknowledge her, she didn’t care that Maya would simply expect the frosting to be ready even when she didn’t ask. All Rika cared about was making sure that Maya was able to create the exact cake that she imagined in her head when she took on these commissions. 

Maya finished the last of the orange roses as Rika slowly added blue food coloring to the buttercream in the mixer, slowly adding a few drops at a time until it was the perfect shade of blue for the little frosting forget-me-nots. She stretched her arms up above her head, extending her torso as she made a small sound of relief before tossing the used piping bag in the trash and walking to where Rika stood at the mixer. 

“Do you need some help?” 

“No,” Rika answered with a reassuring smile as she added a few more drops of blue, “just relax for a minute. I’ll get the color right.” 

Maya poked Rika in the side, aiming for the ticklish spot that would have her arching her body away as she squealed in protest. Rika couldn’t quite explain the little thrill that settled in her stomach as Maya moved closer to poke at her again, but she was a step ahead of her. She grabbed Maya by the wrist and turned her body, moving her hand away from the vulnerable soft spot on her side while exposing Maya in one quick motion. Rika pinched at Maya’s side with a friendly giggle, pulling her body closer as they were overcome with giggles. 

Maya’s foot caught on one of the rubber mats on the kitchen floor, sending her tumbling into Rika with outstretched arms and a sudden yelp. Rika instinctively grabbed at her, trying to help her catch her balance as Maya’s body crashed into hers. They landed with a thud, Ricka’s back taking the brunt of their weight with Maya landing on top of her. 

Without thinking, Rika gently laid her hands on the curve of Maya’s waist as she forced her eyes open with a low groan of pain. Her vision cleared and she was immediately met with Maya’s wide eyes staring into hers, their faces so close that Rika could feel the soft pants of breath from between her lips. 

Maya looked down at her, suddenly realizing how close they were, their noses hardly an inch from touching. Her heart began beating faster, quickly changing from a gentle thud to a wild flutter in her chest as she watched Rika slowly bite her bottom lip. 

“Maya…” Rika’s voice was soft, as if she was afraid she would break the spell between them if she spoke any louder. Her fingers flexed at Rika’s waist, softly testing the feel of her soft curves beneath her fingers. “You’re so close to me,” she whispered, “your heart is beating as fast as mine.” 

She tightened her grip as Maya struggled to take a breath, resisting the urge to pull her closer as Maya tentatively adjusted her weight against her chest. Maya’s eyes hadn’t moved from Rika’s lips, making it all too obvious what she was thinking as they laid on the bakery floor. 

She slowly brought her hand from the subtle curve of Maya’s waist to rest at the back of her neck, holding her breath as she pulled Maya’s lips to her own as their hearts beat wildly in time with one another. 


End file.
